What Happens In Vegas, Stays In Vegas
by LuckyxLabradoodlexLoverx7
Summary: AU: The Rent gang minus Angel go to Las Vegas to celebrate Roger & his twin sister's birthdays, but they end up becoming key witnesses in a murder investigation instead. Takes place in 2010. Rated T for language, among other things.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer – I own nothing of RENT or CSI: Las Vegas. They belong to their respected owners. 'Nuff said. I do, however, own my original characters.

**BOLDED = SIGN LANGUAGE**

_Italics = Written things_

A/N: I was on a walk this morning and this story popped into my head. I will update my other stories – just having this little thing called 'writer's block'. I hope to get the third chapters of my Robin Hood & Phantom stories up soon.

Summary: AU: The Rent gang (except Angel) go to Las Vegas to celebrate Roger & his twin sister's birthdays, but they end up becoming key witnesses in a murder investigation instead. Takes place in 2010. Rated T for language, among other things.

Genre: Drama/Romance

Rating: T

* * *

"Guys, Roger's birthday is coming up, so while he's at the airport getting Maegan, we should discuss it." Mark told the others. It was June 10, 2010 – four days before Roger and his twin sister, Meagan's birthdays.

"Mark, every year you fret about it, but as I've told you before – IT'LL BE OKAY!" Maureen yelled the last part.

"How about a trip to Las Vegas?" Joanne spoke up, not taking her eyes off her computer screen.

"It's on Roger's Bucket List – to go to Vegas." Mimi told the others, filing her nails. Just then, Roger, Maegan and Collins entered the loft, signing to each other. Meagan was twenty minutes older than Roger and was the female version of him, except that she had been deaf since she was three-years-old.

"Hey guys!" Maureen greeted the three of them.

"**Roger, who all them?**" Meagan signed to Roger, nodding to Maureen, Joanne, Mark and Mimi seated on the couch.

"**My friends – Maureen, Joanne, Mark and Mimi.**" Roger signed to his twin. Meagan smiled at each of them as Roger fingerspelled their names.

"HOW WAS YOUR FLIGHT?" Maureen shouted.

"Mo, she's deaf, but I can translate." Roger informed Maureen before turning back to Meagan. "**How your flight?**" Roger signed.

"**Good. Thank you**." Meagan signed to Maureen. Maureen looked to Roger, confused.

"She said – good, thank you." Roger translated. Collins smiled and headed to the kitchen, a sudden frown on his face. Angel had died from AIDS in 2000 and Collins missed her so much. Angel had told him to move on, even though Collins promised he wouldn't.

Five hours later, Meagan, Roger, Collins, Mark, Joanne, Maureen and Mimi had either left or gone to bed. The ones that were awake – Mark, Mimi and Collins – were figuring out how they were going to get the money to go to Vegas.

"I have some money saved from my various jobs." Collins told them.

"Same with me." Mark and Mimi said in unison.

"I know Joanne has some – I don't know about Benny." Collins said.

"I don't care about Benny." Mimi muttered under her breath.

"When should we fly out?" Mark inquired. He was on his laptop, trying to figure out when the seven of them could fly out and looking at the cheapest tickets.

"When's the earliest we could go?" Collins asked, getting up from his spot on the couch and sat next to Mark.

"We could leave tomorrow or the twelfth." Mark said.

"How about the twelfth? That way, we can get tickets and tell Roger and Meagan where we're going ahead of time." Mimi suggested. Mark nodded and booked their flight for Vegas.

The next morning, everyone was up and around except for Meagan and Roger. They were very heavy sleepers and it took a long time to wake them up. Once Roger and Meagan were up, the girls went shopping while the guys played Wii.

"Dude! You beat me again!" Collins exclaimed, frowning as his Mii hung its head and walked off the screen. The boys were playing Dance Off, which all of them liked.

"It's just my luck." Roger said as he took the remote from Collins' hands. He, Mark and Collins were dance battling each other's Miis.

Meanwhile at the mall, the girls were trying so hard to communicate with Meagan, but none of them knew sign language.

"_How have you liked your trip so far_?" Maureen scribbled down on a piece of paper. Meagan looked at the paper and smiled.

"_I'm really enjoying it – thank you_." Meagan wrote in clean, readable cursive.

"_Where did you live before coming here_?" Joanne wrote, handing the paper back to Meagan. They were sitting at a table in the food court, passing a piece of notebook paper around.

"_I lived in Michigan with my Aunt Kay, Uncle Patrick and cousin Elizabeth – Liz for short._" Meagan wrote before handing the paper back to Joanne.

"_What's the weather like there_?" Mimi wrote.

"_It's usually in the 70s, but when I left, it was 88._" Meagan wrote.

"_What is your family like_?" Maureen wrote.

"_Wonderful. My Aunt Kay is deaf, so the two of us communicate a lot of the time. Liz is going to school to become an interpreter. She and I performed in a Deaf Star Search. We signed the song 'Strangers Like Me' – do you know it_?" Meagan wrote.

"_I love that song._" Mimi wrote.

"_What do you like to do_?" Joanne wrote.

"_I ride horses, read, write, play Wii, ride my bike, take pictures, scrapbook, watch movies, dance, go to musicals and plays, walk my dog Chance, play computer games and make jewelry._" Meagan wrote on the paper, turning it over.

The girls wrote for a while longer before deciding to head back to the loft.

"_You would've liked Angel. She died five years ago and was Collins' girlfriend_." Mimi wrote on another scrap of paper as she and Meagan climbed in the back of Joanne's car.

"_I thought Collins liked boys_?" Meagan wrote, a little confused.

"_Angel was a drag queen – you know, a boy pretending to be a girl_." Mimi wrote before handing the paper to Meagan.

"_Oh. I see. How did Angel die_?" Meagan scribbled.

"_AIDS_." Mimi wrote, tears in her eyes. Meagan reached over and hugged Mimi.

"_Thank you_." Mimi wrote on the paper.

"It's too quiet! Let's turn on some music!" Maureen suggested, turning on the radio. The song 'So What' by Pink came on and instantly, Meagan began signing. Mimi watched her new friend, very impressed. She later explained that she could feel the vibrations through the floor and could 'feel' the song.

The girls reached the loft an hour later. Maureen and Joanne dropped off Mimi and Meagan before heading to their apartment to pack for Vegas.

"Hey ladies. You have fun?" Collins asked as Meagan and Mimi entered the loft.

"Best. Day. Ever!" Mimi told him, hugging Meagan again before going to her room.

"**We're leaving for Las Vegas tomorrow. You packed**?" Roger signed to his twin. She nodded and hugged her brother before signing 'good night' and going to the room she shared with Mimi.

The next morning, the gang stumbled out of their rooms at 3:00 AM in order to make it to the airport by 7:30 – the time their plane left. The drive to the airport was a three-hour drive, so they would have plenty of time to sleep on the plane and in the car.

"Are we there yet?" Roger grumbled, adjusting his position.

"Not yet." Mark answered, keeping his eyes on the road. In Roger's car, Mark was driving while Collins sat in the front. Roger, Mimi and Meagan were in the back. Maureen and Joanne would be taking their car and would be meeting them at the airport.

"How about now?" Mimi yawned.

"Almost." Mark said, still not taking his eyes off the road. Meagan was fast asleep, oblivious as to what was going on around her.

Fifteen minutes later, Mark parked the car in the long-term parking lot. As he and Mimi tried to wake Meagan up, Roger and Collins got everyone's luggage out of the trunk.

"Rog, how do you wake your sister up? It's impossible!" Mimi complained. Roger unfastened Meagan's seatbelt and punched her on the arm – hard. Meagan woke up, a pissed off look on her face.

"**What the hell, Rog!**" Meagan signed angrily.

"**We're at the airport**." Roger signed to her, helping Meagan out of the car. Mark locked the car just as the shuttle came that would take them to their terminal. It was about a ten-minute shuttle ride and everyone was bored.

"Did you bring your guitar?" Collins asked.

"Yup." Roger answered, stifling a yawn.

They reached the terminal and stepped off the shuttle. Mark and Collins went to check baggage while Roger and Meagan went to use the restroom. Mimi was in charge of waiting for Maureen and Joanne.

The girls arrived five minutes later, looking sleep deprived.

"It was hard leaving Elise and Mr. Snuggles at the kennel." Maureen told the others. Elsie was their five-year-old black Schnoodle while Mr. Snuggles was their one-year-old gray-and-white domestic short hair cat.

"I bet – those pets are like your kids." Mimi told the girls. Both of them nodded as Roger, Meagan, Collins and Mark walked over.

"The baggage is checked, so we just need to go through security." Mark told the others while Roger translated for Maegan. They nodded and waited for Maureen and Joanne to check their bags before joining them.

"I'm so excited!" Mimi squealed as the seven of them went through security.

"I am, too." Maureen chimed in.

"I'm gonna go get coffee – anybody want some or to come help me?" Mark asked while Roger translated.

"**I'll go**." Meagan signed.

"Me, too." Roger piped up. They were now through security and were headed to their gate. Roger looked at his watch – two hours until their flight left.

"We have two hours, so if you guys want to eat, or need to pee, now's the time to do it." Roger told the others.

"Now boarding flight 11242 to Las Vegas, Nevada." An overhead voice announced two hours later. Mark handed everyone their tickets and compared seat assignments. He, Maureen and Joanne were in row 15; Roger, Collins and Meagan were in row 16. Poor Mimi was in row 18.

"See you in Vegas." Roger told his girlfriend, kissing her on the lips. Mimi nodded and made her way to row 18.

"**Aisle or middle seat, which?**" Roger signed to Meagan.

"**Middle please**." Meagan signed. Roger indicated to Collins to get in first, then Meagan. He sat on the aisle and looked for his friends.

"Rog! Down here!" Mark called from the aisle seat of the row behind them.

It was a long flight to Vegas, but everyone had something to do – Meagan, Joanne and Mark had brought their laptops; Collins brought papers to grade; Mimi brought her headphones, while Roger brought a book.

There were two in-flight movies – Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince and The Proposal. Roger ended up watching The Proposal, since his book was getting boring.

"Anything to drink?" the flight attendant asked Collins.

"Pepsi, please." Collins told her. Roger nudged Meagan and signed if she wanted anything to drink. She nodded and signed 'water.'

"She'll have a water and I'll have a root beer." Roger told the flight attendant before she could say anything. She nodded and handed Roger and Meagan their drinks.

What seemed like an eternity later, the plane landed in the Las Vegas Airport. The seven of them exited the plane and had to shield their eyes coming out of the airport.

"Which hotel are we at?" Roger asked as Collins tried to hail a taxi.

"Excalibur." Mark answered as a taxi came to the curb. Meagan, Mimi, Maureen and Mark climbed into the cab while Joanne, Roger and Collins waited for another one.

"Excalibur Hotel, please." Roger told the cabbie once the three of them were settled in the backseat.

It was a twenty-minute cab ride, which didn't bother the three of them.

"So, what hotels are the best to go to?" Roger asked the cabbie.

"Try Caesar's Palace – that's where I go all the time." The cabbie answered in a thick accent.

"Thanks. We'll keep that in mind." Joanne muttered under her breath.

They were now at the hotel, checking in and talking about room assignments.

"I think that the guys should share one room and the girls should have the other." Maureen told the guys.

"No, because you guys don't know sign." Roger argued.

The room arrangements were as followed:

Room 1134 – Collins and Mark

Room 1138 – Meagan, Roger and Mimi

Room 1147 – Maureen and Joanne

"Do you have a pool?" Maureen asked the girl at the front counter, obliviously flirting with her.

"We have two – a heated indoor one and an outdoor one." The girl answered.

"How late are they open?" Maureen questioned.

"The indoor one is open for another twenty minutes and the outdoor one is closed until 9:00 AM tomorrow morning." The girl told Maureen, ignoring her flirting. She thanked the girl and stormed away from the desk, an irritated look on her face.

"So, what do we wanna do?" Mimi asked as Maureen came over.

"We should all go to bed – we have a busy day tomorrow." Mark answered before Maureen could say anything.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Roger asked as they took the elevator to their rooms.

"You'll have to wait and see." Joanne piped up.

"Oh. My. God!" Mimi hissed, digging her fingernails into Roger's hand.

"Ow! Meems! What the hell!" Roger hissed.

"Is that?" Collins questioned as an African-American man and a Caucasian woman stepped onto the elevator just as the seven of them did.

"What?" Mark inquired as Maureen elbowed him in the ribs.

"Benny?" the six of them asked.

"Yeah – who's?-" Benny inquired as he turned around. "What the hell are you doing here?"

"We were just thinking the same thing, bonehead." Maureen hissed under her breath.

"We're here on our honeymoon. I'm Georgette."

"Honeymoon?" the bohos cried in unison.

"Did I tell you guys that Alison and I filed for divorce?" Benny asked his friends, a little sheepish.

"**Roger, what's going on?**" Meagan signed, quite confused.

"**That's Benny and his wife, Georgette**." Roger signed to his sister.

"**Why they here?**" Meagan signed.

"**On honeymoon.**" Roger signed.

"Roger, I didn't know you knew sign language." Benny observed.

"In case you didn't notice, asshole, my sister is deaf, which means she can't hear!" Roger nearly screamed. Collins stood between Benny and Roger, just in case a fight broke out in the elevator.

The elevator reached the eleventh floor and the nine of them stepped off the elevator.

"Are you following us?" Joanne asked Benny as he and Georgette walked down the same hallways as Joanne and Maureen.

"No – our room is down this way." Georgette answered as she and Benny entered room number 1149.

"Gah!" Maureen screamed as she and Joanne entered their room.

"Honey, relax." Joanne told Maureen as they entered their room. Maureen went straight to the bed near the window and curled into a ball, not bothering to change into her pajamas. Joanne sighed and went to the bathroom to change before climbing into bed.

In Mark and Collins' room, things were not going well.

"Dude – what the hell?" Collins questioned, staring at the room. It was small with one bed in it, instead of two.

"I specifically asked for three rooms with two beds in each." Mark said, very upset.

"I'll call room service and see if they can bring a cot up, or something." Collins reassured Mark. He let out a sigh and gave in to Collins calling room service. The man at the front desk apologized and said that someone would be bringing up a cot as soon as they could.

"Thanks." Mark thanked the guy before hanging up. "For nothing!" he mumbled under his breath.

The cot arrived five minutes later and after much arguing, it was settled that Mark would sleep on the cot while Collins took the bed.

The friends instantly fell asleep, anxious for the day ahead of them.


	2. Chapter 2

The following day was Roger and Meagan's birthdays. In the morning, the group was going sightseeing then to see Cirque Du Solei in the evening. In the afternoon, Roger had said he wanted to go to lunch and gamble a little bit. Mimi and Joanne had pitched in to get tickets to the interpreted version of _Avenue Q_ – Meagan's all-time favorite musical.

After lunch, the guys headed to the casino while the girls hung out by the pool. Roger and Meagan had taught Mimi some signs last night, so there was no need for Roger to get an interpreter.

"So, what do you want to do, Rog?" Collins asked as he, Mark and Roger entered the casino. They were now walking towards the slot machines.

"Those look like fun." Roger said as he heard bells and alarms go off, meaning someone had won. He sat down at a slot machine as Mark and Collins sat on either side of him. Roger put a dollar in the money slot and pulled the trigger. It was a lemon and two 7s.

"You guys wanna play craps or poker?" Mark asked, getting up from his slot machine. The other two men nodded and started to walk to the crap table when they heard someone call to Roger. Roger spun around and saw Mimi, by herself.

"Mimi? What's wrong?" Roger asked.

"Nothing – I came to let you guys know that we're going to King Arthur's Court for lunch – it's the café in the hotel. Our reservations are for 12, so don't be late." Mimi said, winking at the boys as she left the casino.

"What time is it now?" Mark asked a half-hour later. The three of them were playing craps and Mark was losing badly. Roger had won twenty dollars, whereas Collins had won forty.

"It's 11:59." Roger answered, stepping away from the craps table to take his AZT and take a sip of water he ordered.

"We should go to the café – now!" Collins said, taking his AZT and took a sip of the apple martini he ordered.

They reached the café five minutes later and found the girls sitting at a rather large table. Roger sat next to Mimi on one side and Meagan on the other.

"You guys win anything?" Maureen asked as Mark and Collins sat at the table.

"I won twenty dollars." Roger bragged as the waitress came over.

"Shit – I won forty." Collins boasted, sticking his tongue out at Roger.

"If it helps, I didn't win anything." Mark told the girls.

Just then, the waitress cleared her throat, getting the group's attention. They all looked at her and smiled.

"Hi – I'm Josie and I'll be your waitress this afternoon. Can I start you off with something to drink?" she asked.

"Water and a Coke." Roger started.

"Is Pepsi okay?" Josie asked. Roger nodded.

"Can I get a lemonade, please?" Mimi asked. Josie smiled and nodded.

"**I'll have a Sierra Mist, please**." Meagan signed to the waitress, who looked utterly confused.

"She wants a Sierra Mist." Roger translated. Josie smiled and wrote down Meagan's drink order.

"I'll have water." Maureen told the waitress.

"Make that two." Mark spoke up.

"I'll have an Apple Tini." Joanne told the waitress.

"What sort of beers do you have?" Collins asked. Josie started to name the beers and Collins stopped her after the third choice – Bud Light.

"I'll be right back with your drinks. Do you have any questions about the menu?" Josie asked. Everyone shook their heads and looked at the delicious food choices.

Five minutes later, Josie and another waiter came over with two trayfuls of drinks. Once everyone had their drink, Josie got out a pad of paper and a pen so that she could write down people's orders.

"I'll have a grilled chicken sandwich. Instead of coleslaw, could I have French Fries with it?" Roger asked. Josie nodded and wrote down Roger's order.

"I'll have a ½ soup and ½ salad. For the soup, could I have the chicken noodle and a small Caesar salad?" Mimi placed her order. Josie nodded again and wrote down Mimi's order.

"She'll have a turkey sandwich without mayo and an order of fries." Roger told Josie as Meagan translated to Roger.

"Just a side of mashed potatoes and some chicken noodle soup for me." Maureen told the waitress. Joanne, Mark and Collins placed their orders and Josie walked away.

"Maureen? Are you okay?" Mimi asked, taking a sip of her drink.

"Yeah. Well, actually, no. I know it's Roger and Meagan's big day, but there's something we need to tell you guys – we're pregnant!" Maureen blurted out as Roger translated for Meagan.

"Here's to Maureen, Joanne and their new baby. Congrats." Mark raised his glass and toasted his friends, motioning for the others to do the same.

Once lunch had been eaten, the guys went back to the casino, while the girls went back to the pool. They agreed to meet back at the hotel by five, so that way they could get ready to go before going out on the town.

"Roger, we need to get going." Mark told his friend, watching him pull the trigger on the slot machine he was playing.

"One more try." Roger said, his voice almost robotic.

"No, we need to go NOW!" Collins said, pulling Roger away from the slot machine. Mark put some money in and pulled the trigger. A cactus and two cowboy hats came up, so Mark left it, running after his friends.

The guys were ready ten minutes before the girls, so they hung out in the hotel lobby. Roger and Mark were having a thumb war, while Collins flipped through a magazine.

Maureen and Meagan were the first ones to enter the lobby. Maureen was wearing black pants and a white peasant blouse. On her feet, she wore high-heeled sandals. Meagan was wearing a blue shirt and matching skirt. On her feet, she wore purple ballet flats.

Mimi and Joanne arrived four minutes later. Mimi was wearing a pink skirt, white tank top and blue shrug. On her feet, she wore white sandals. Joanne was wearing a black shirt, black pants and a pink tie. On her feet, she wore black dress shoes.

"You girls clean up nice." Mark told the girls as they headed out of the hotel.

"So do you guys." Mimi told the boys, taking hold of Roger's hand. He smiled at her and together, the seven of them headed out of the hotel and made their way down the strip.

Suddenly, two gunshots made them turn around. The people around them screamed and scattered in every which way. The group stayed together as much as they could.

"SOMEBODY CALL 911!" Someone called from the middle of the commotion. Roger whipped out his cell phone and dialed 911.

"911 What's your emergency?" a woman's voice came on the other line.

"Yeah, hi. I would like to report a shooting." Roger told the woman.

"What's your location, sir?"

"Outside the Excalibur Hotel and Casino."

"Do you know if anyone was hurt?"

"I can't tell – there's a big crowd in front of me."

"I'll go check it out." Mimi volunteered. Roger nodded and waited until Mimi came back.

"Sir? Are you there?" the operator inquired.

"Yeah – my girlfriend went to check it out."

"Oh my God! Roger!" Mimi called. Roger ran to her, motioning for the others to stay put. When he got to the front of the crowd, he saw Benny and Georgette lying in a pool of blood.

* * *

"I got to the front of the crowd and saw two dead bodies." Roger was explaining to a female CSI.

"Can you identify the bodies?" she asked him. Roger nodded and followed her to where two male medical examiners were examining the bodies.

"That's our ex-friend Benjamin Coffin and his wife, Georgette." Roger told the female CSI. He looked over at his friends and sister – Mimi was talking to a young male CSI, while his friends and Meagan looked scared.

"We'll need you to come down to the station and answer a few questions." The female CSI – Catherine Willows – told Roger. He nodded and motioned for his friends to come alone.

"Where are you guys from?" Catherine asked Roger as he and Meagan sat in the interrogation room.

"We're all from New York – we flew out here for our birthdays." Roger answered, indicating to Meagan, who was pale and looked scared.

"Where were your friends during the shooting?" Catherine asked Meagan. She looked to Roger to translate, which he did.

"**They were with us.**" Megan signed while Roger translated. Catherine looked to Roger.

"She's my twin and she's been deaf since she was three." Roger quickly explained.

"Did Benny or Georgette have any enemies?" Catherine asked Roger. Roger shook his head.

"Thanks for cooperating. We'll just need your fingerprints, just to rule you out as suspects." Catherine explained. Roger nodded and translated to Meagan. She nodded and let Catherine take her fingerprints. When she was done, it was Roger's turn.

As they left headquarters, Roger and Meagan ran into the rest of the gang.

"You guys okay?" Roger asked as they headed to a café across the street. The five of them nodded as they entered the café.

"Hey Mark." A black-haired woman greeted them as they sat in a booth.

"Hey Sara. What are you doing here?" Mark asked the woman.

"My shift is over. Mind if I join you guys?" Sara asked. Mark shook his head as she pulled up a chair. Mark had everyone introduce himself or herself. When it got to Meagan, she fingerspelled her name. Sara smiled and signed her name back.

"How do you know sign language?" Maureen asked once the introductions were made.

"We had a case a few years ago where a deaf girl was raped. I took a class at the community college so that I could understand her." Sara explained, pouring herself some coffee.

"What's with that scary-looking guy on the team?" Mimi asked.

"Which guy? There's Greg, Nick, Grissom, David, Warrick-" Sara started naming off guys when Mimi stopped her at Grissom.

"He's actually really nice when he's not working." Sara told her as other members of CSI entered the café and sat at the next table over from them.

"Which one's Grissom?" Mimi asked.

"He's the one with the white hair and is wearing a gray shirt and jeans." Sara answered.

"Why are you asking about him?" Collins spoke up, taking a sip of his coffee.

"He scares me a little." Mimi answered. Sara smiled and motioned for the others to join them. Grissom and Collins put the table and booth together, annoying the wait staff.

"Don't worry about it." Warrick reassured them as he took a seat next to Mimi and Roger.

Greg started to say something when he saw Meagan sitting at the table, looking around. Greg tapped her on the shoulder and tried to find the right words.

"Hi." Greg said five seconds later. Meagan blinked and stared at him.

"She's deaf, Greg." Grissom told the young man. Greg felt himself blush and sat back down. Meagan smiled at Greg, knowing it was an honest mistake.

The thirteen of them talked for a while longer before Mimi rested her head on Roger's shoulder and looked up at him with tired eyes.

"Um, should we go back to our hotel or what do we do?" Mark inquired, avoiding Sara's kind brown eyes.

"Well, your hotel is a crime scene, but you can go back. Just don't go anywhere – we may need to question you further." Catherine spoke up, getting up from the table.

* * *

"I don't know how you can sleep, Meems." Roger whispered. He, Meagan and Mimi were in their hotel room. Meagan had fallen asleep and Mimi had her eyes closed, but she wasn't asleep.

"I saw things like this all the time in my neighborhood growing up. I guess I'm used to it." Mimi responded sleepily. She then propped herself on her elbow and turned so she was facing Roger. He was shirtless and had on red and black striped pajama bottoms on.

"You okay?" Roger asked, climbing in next to Mimi.

"I want to know something – don't get mad at me."

"I promise."

"How come you never mentioned Meagan before this? I've been with you a long time and you never talked about her."

"Her foster family didn't want us to keep in touch – they were strict."

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain very much."

Roger took a deep breath and explained a little further.

"_I'm sorry young man, but she doesn't want to see you." Mr. Templin told a fifteen-year-old Roger._

"_I need to make sure she's okay." Roger explained, his voice pleading._

"_**Roger**__?" Meagan signed. She was standing behind Mr. Templin. Her blond hair was pulled into a neat ponytail and she was wearing a long blue dress and white shoes._

"_**I'm here, Meagan**__." Roger signed to his twin. He then turned to Mr. Templin. "She doesn't want to see me? It looks like she does." _

"_Anne, could you get Meagan out of here?" Mr. Templin told his eldest daughter. She nodded and put a comforting hand on Meagan's shoulder. Meagan didn't budge._

"_LET'S GO!" Anne yelled, kicking Meagan in the shin. Meagan let out a wail and followed Anne willingly._

"_Now, get out of here!" Mr. Templin growled to Roger._

"_I'm not going anywhere. She _needs _me!" Roger screamed at the obese man in front of him._

"_If you're not off my porch by the time I count to five, I'm calling the police!" Mr. Templin threatened. Roger took a step back and ran off the porch, knowing the man was serious._

_Roger returned later that night with his uncle Patrick and cousin Elizabeth. Liz and Patrick were to keep Mr. Templin occupied while Roger got Meagan out of there. Roger got the latter off the ground and climbed in through the far window – Meagan's room. She was fast asleep, but when Roger punched her – hard – on the shoulder, she woke up._

"_**Roger? What the hell!**__" She signed angrily while Roger pulled her into a hug. She relaxed and hugged him back. _

"_**We're getting you out of here. I don't like the way they treat you**__." Roger signed to his twin, helping her stand up and climb out the window._

"_**We**__?" Meagan signed once they were on the ground._

"_**Uncle Patrick and cousin Liz came with me**__." Roger signed, taking a hold of Meagan's hand and ran as fast as he could towards town. He heard a car behind him and looked over his shoulder – it was Uncle Patrick's car._

"_Get in – hurry!" Patrick said, not even stopping for Roger and Meagan. They jumped into the car at the same time._

"_You guys okay?" Liz asked, looking in the rearview mirror. Roger nodded and let Meagan rest her head on his shoulder._

"That still doesn't explain anything." Mimi told her boyfriend.

"I told the police that the Templin's were abusing Meagan and they arrested the entire family. Patrick had told the police that it was his idea to get Meagan out of there – he didn't want to see me go to juvie." Roger explained. Mimi wrapped her arms around Roger's waist and kissed his bare chest.

"I'm glad that you rescued her." Mimi said in-between kisses.

"I am, too." Roger told her, holding Mimi closer to him.

* * *

"I have no idea how I'm gonna sleep tonight." Maureen told her partner, pacing the length of the room. Joanne didn't look up from her book she was reading.

"Honey, come to bed." Joanne told Maureen after a few minutes.

"Joanne – Benny and Georgette were KILLED tonight and YOU'RE telling me to come to bed?" Maureen exclaimed.

"Maureen, please." Joanne pleaded.

"I never told anyone this, but Benny and I used to date."

"WHAT?"

"It was before I met Mark, back in high school." Maureen told Joanne, suddenly regretting it. Joanne was extremely jealous when it came to Maureen talking about her past lovers.

"It was just for a couple of months – I found out he was cheating on me with a slut from the cheerleading team." Maureen quickly explained.

"Maureen Lynn Johnson-Jefferson." Joanne growled, rubbing her temples. Maureen climbed in the adjacent bed and turned so that she was facing away from her partner.

"DO NOT use my full name – I hate it." Maureen sobbed. Joanne turned on the bedside lamp and got out of bed. She then held the other woman, muttering 'I'm sorry' in her ear.

* * *

"Jesus fuck damn shit!" Collins cursed.

"Wha's goin on?" Mark muttered sleepily.

"It was FUCKING scary what happened tonight and all you can do is SLEEP?" Collins screamed at the other man.

"Collins? What's going on?" Mark asked, more awake.

"Even though we all hated Benny, I think we should do something." Collins answered, a little more calmed down. Mark climbed out of bed and sat on the edge of Collins' cot. He then pulled the other man into a hug and held him for a while.

"I agree." Mark said once he pulled out of the hug.

The two men spent the rest of the night planning a funeral for Benny and Georgette.


End file.
